Overview
- The UN will use only its second ever public Q&A format, with three-hour sessions starting Tuesday with Michelle Bachelet and Rafael Grossi and finishing Wednesday with Rebeca Grynspan and Macky Sall.
- Under UN rules, the Security Council will hold color-coded straw polls to test support and then recommend a candidate with no permanent-member veto to the General Assembly.
- The United States has signaled it may block contenders it opposes, with envoy Mike Waltz rejecting regional rotation and saying he shares lawmakers’ concerns about Bachelet.
- Many diplomats view IAEA chief Rafael Grossi as the frontrunner after high-profile nuclear shuttle diplomacy on Iran and at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia plant.
- Candidate standing is fluid, with Bachelet continuing after Chile withdrew support, Grynspan pointing to development dealmaking such as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, and Sall lacking clear backing across Africa.